Fresh Perspective: Top 3 potential trade deadline targets for Miami Dolphins

As the trade deadline quickly approaches, the Miami Dolphins have some interesting possibilities to explore. With Tua Tagovailoa set to make his debut as Miami’s starter, the future is now. But the future is also still the future, and there are players available to acquire that could help the Dolphins now and in the years to come. General Manager Chris Grier has proven he’s willing to make deals when he sees an opportunity. The draft day trade for quarterback Josh Rosen comes to mind.

Obviously, any acquisitions need to be at a good price. Miami shouldn’t try to trade simply for the sake of trading. Nonetheless, part of being a GM is doing due diligence. Here, we shall take a look at the top three players who could potentially find roles with the Dolphins if they were acquired.

DL Quinnen Williams – New York Jets

This is just some of the disruption that Quinnen Williams caused in the pass game today.

Blew up the A gap twice for QB pressures. Had the sack after stacking and shedding the double team.

A number of other hurries that might look like “nothing” but are big wins #Jets pic.twitter.com/69i2LTnkFT

— Luke Grant (@LukeGrant7) October 25, 2020

The New York Jets are a miserable 0-7 and are on the fast track to drafting Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. As such, the Jets are in a prime position to be sellers at the November 3 trade deadline. They have already traded defensive tackle Steve McLendon and a 2023 7th round draft pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 2022 6th round draft pick. So at the risk of accusations of tanking, New York needs to build up draft capital to create a decent team around Lawrence.

Probably their most valuable piece – aside from QB Sam Darnold – is second-year defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Coming out of Alabama in 2019, Williams was considered the most dominant interior defensive lineman in all of college football before the Jets drafted him 3rd overall. He dominated one-on-one blocking, held his own against double-teams, and most felt he still hadn’t even reached his ceiling.

So why would he even be available for trade with all that in mind? Simply put, Williams has had a somewhat disappointing start to his career. In the 13 games he played for New York in his rookie season, Williams only contributed 28 tackles and 2.5 sacks. For someone projected to be the best defensive lineman in football in a few years, that’s not the stat line teams hope for. He has improved so far in 2020, already recording three sacks in seven games. But he’s not making a difference in whether the Jets win or lose. Also, there are some analysts who believe that defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has misused Quinnen Williams so a good offer may be enough to shake him loose.

This is a two-fold situation. The Miami Dolphins need defensive tackle depth with the loss of Davon Godchaux to injury. Not only that, Godchaux is in a contract year, and he’ll be looking to cash in in 2021. By acquiring Williams before the trade deadline, Miami takes care of their depth problem and even potentially upgrades from Godchaux. Not only that, Williams will be under team control until 2023, meaning the Dolphins have relatively cheap, possibly elite talent for a few more years. Icing on the cake? If Miami trades for Williams, and Godchaux signs a huge contract elsewhere, they will still be eligible to receive a high compensation draft pick. Trades are not included in that formula. There are very few downsides.

That being said, acquiring Williams isn’t likely to be cheap. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Jets are looking for something more than just a 2nd round draft pick. Of course, the Dolphins do have the draft capital to meet their demands. Miami can easily package their 2nd rounder, along with one or two late-round picks to sweeten the deal.

Ultimately, this boils down to how badly the Jets want to sell at the trade deadline. According to Connor Hughes of The Athletic, the Jets have not yet received any “serious” offers for Williams. And according to Manish Mehta of New York Daily News, the Jets are trying to trade Williams before the trade deadline. Of course, Brian Costello of the New York Post says the opposite. So there’s no telling what the Jets are really thinking right now. In a vacuum, if Miami is willing to send a package of picks to New York for a young defensive tackle brimming with potential, it might be worth the risk, especially if they can get away with keeping both 1st round picks.

WR John Ross – Cincinnati Bengals

Here's every target John Ross as gotten in 2020.

Do we really want this on our team Eagles fans??? pic.twitter.com/TcyHKfataX

— Traw 💭🏈 (@Whatshis40) October 20, 2020

John Ross is good at one thing. He’s really, really fast. So why bother trading for someone who is essentially just a taller version of Jakeem Grant? Because speed kills, and Miami’s WR corps – without Albert Wilson – is lacking serious top-end speed. While DeVante Parker, Preston Williams and Mike Gesicki (a tight end) are all terrific options to catch contested passes, they don’t have the speed and agility to break away at the line of scrimmage. It’s often a challenge to catch the ball.

This is why Jakeem Grant’s lack of targets is puzzling. Through six games this season, he’s only been targeted 17 times, 13 of which have been caught. Perhaps things will change with Tua Tagovailoa taking the reins. Ryan Fitzpatrick prefers taller wide receivers, and getting the ball to Grant requires pinpoint accuracy on account of his size. Tagovailoa projects to be a more accurate passer, but that doesn’t mean Miami should stand pat with one speedster.

Ross suffers many of the same issues Grant does. He tends to drop passes, his reliability is suspect. Not only that, his early career mirrors that of DeVante Parker’s. Often injured, Ross has only played in 24 of 48 games since he was drafted 9th overall in 2017. Now, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Ross is requesting a trade. Rookie WR Tee Higgins is impressive, and Ross’s snap count has decreased dramatically. He wants to play.

If the Cincinnati Bengals decide to honor the trade request, Ross could be had relatively cheaply. He has the makings of a redemption project, so perhaps a 3rd or 4th round pick would be enough to shake him loose. His contributions with the Bengals are minimal, and his reliability is suspect at best. Let us not forget, however, that is exactly what everyone thought about DeVante Parker. Looking into Ross’s history, a lot of the same patterns emerge. Nagging injuries, lack of confidence, no investment in taking care of his body, too much investment on social media.

Ring any bells?

Brian Flores was able to bring out the best in DeVante Parker. Perhaps he can do the same for John Ross. If they decide it doesn’t work out, they can let Ross go in the offseason no worse for wear and try to get a comp pick for him. If he does play well, then he can be re-signed to an affordable deal and add blistering speed to a WR corps that desperately needs more of it.

Safety Justin Reid – Houston Texans

#Texans Justin Reid was all over the field vs the Ravens. Even when he gets "picked" by B Mack, he has the speed to recover and save the TD. Reid's made a living off of keeping points off the board.

Also, look at Merc stuttering like his WiFi powered by some hamsters on a wheel. pic.twitter.com/Ri5RgzKyoz

— Texans Thoughts (@Texans_Thoughts) September 24, 2020

The younger brother of Pro Bowl safety Eric Reid, Justin Reid has had a mixed start to his career. On the one hand, he’s very versatile. He can play in the box and as a deep safety. That fits the Miami Dolphins defensive style to a tee. On the other hand, Reid isn’t exactly playing at a Pro Bowl level. He’s good, but not great. That can change, however, if put on a team that values the secondary like Miami does.

While Bobby McCain and Eric Rowe are coming into their own, adding a young, developing player like Reid could offer a new range of possibilities for the Dolphins. Reid is only 23 years old, and he’s under team control until 2022. He’s also insanely cheap with his rookie contract, so the cap hit would be negligible.

As of now, the Houston Texans are 1-6. They have almost no draft capital whatsoever, and their salary cap is not a pretty sight. They only have about $7.5 million in cap space this season, and next season’s cap projects to be even worse with DeShaun Watson’s contract set to give him a massive pay bump. Houston needs to do something to collect picks for the future, because extending existing players isn’t going to be easy with their cap woes.

Any one of these three players gives Miami an added dimension they’re currently lacking. They also fit the youth movement the Dolphins clearly are looking for. Will they go out of their way to pursue anyone at the trade deadline? That remains to be seen. There are even rumors Miami may be sellers, as media speculates Ryan Fitzpatrick could be on the move.

Whatever the Dolphins decide, they should heavily consider using some of their picks to acquire established talent and potential before the trade deadline. Thanks to world events, NFL scouting has taken a massive hit. Picking players in the 2021 draft beyond the 2nd round is going to be riskier than ever as a result. So there’s no reason not to explore the possibility of acquiring young talent from bad teams looking to rebuild. With Brian Flores in charge, they may get something out of those players that previous regimes could not.

Luis Sung has covered the Miami Dolphins for numerous outlets such as Dolphins Wire for seven years. Follow him on Twitter: @LuisDSung